The Art Scene: 05.21.15
“Twisted Metal” at Tripoli East
The Tripoli Gallery in East Hampton will open “Twisted Metal III,” a solo exhibition of new works by Yung Jake, a Los Angeles artist, with a reception on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will run through June 21.
A 2012 graduate of the California Institute of the Arts, Yung Jake operates in the worlds of rap, technology, social media, and contemporary art. In his works-on-metal series, motifs have been distorted, manipulated, and applied in the form of vinyl wrap to the surfaces of found scrap metal.
Firestone Double-Header
The Eric Firestone Gallery in East Hampton is launching its summer season on two fronts. “Womanhouse,” an exhibition of work by 21 female artists, will open with a reception Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. at the space on Newtown Lane. The gallery is also collaborating with the Surf Lodge in Montauk, where a 90-square-foot hanging sculpture by Jen Stark, a Los Angeles artist, will go on view Sunday with a reception from 5 to 7 p.m.
“Womanhouse,” organized by Eric Firestone and Michelle Tillou, takes its inspiration from Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s 1972 project, a feminist installation and performance space at the California Institute of Arts.
The show includes two works from Ms. Chicago’s “Dome” series and a piece of Ms. Schapiro’s “Femmage,” a conflation of textile arts and painting, as well as works by a number of contemporary artists.
Ms. Stark is known for her meticulously assembled, colorful paper constructions and large-scale painted murals. Her artwork mimics intricate patterns and colors found in nature while exploring ideas of replication and infinity.
“Womanhouse” will be on view through June 14. The Surf Lodge show will run through June 28.
James Greco at Ille
Ille Arts in Amagansett will present a solo show of new paintings by James Greco from Saturday through June 9, with a reception set for Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m.
Mr. Greco, who lives in Brooklyn, uses traditional oil paints, house paints, and other mixed media on panels to create what he terms “improvisational narrative abstraction.” What differentiates them from traditional abstraction is their combination of unrelated but seemingly referential elements that in fact have no connection to anything but themselves.
S.I.S Members Show
The 31st Springs Improvement Society Members Show will take over Ashawagh Hall this weekend, starting with a reception tomorrow from 5 to 8 p.m. Admission of $5 will entitle guests to wine and hors d’oeuvres.
The gallery will be open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and from 11 to 2 on Monday. All proceeds from the exhibition will be earmarked for maintenance of the hall.
Graffiti Art at Lawrence
Lawrence Fine Art in East Hampton will open its summer schedule Saturday with “Hard Edge: Work by Sen2 and Reso,” graffiti artists who work in the United States and Germany respectively.
Both artists have moved from buildings to canvas and are working toward a graffiti-abstract fusion. The graphic, hard-edged nature of the works and the bright colors reflect their Pop sensibilities.
Boaz Vaadia at Vered
Vered Gallery in East Hampton will open an exhibition of new sculptures by Boaz Vaadia, an Israeli artist, with a reception on Saturday from 9 to 11 p.m. The show will run through June 23.
Mr. Vaadia’s latest works are a series of layered slate and bluestone busts for which friends and family served as models. His larger stone figures, which are in museums and public spaces worldwide, including the Time Warner Center in Manhattan, are not based on specific individuals but instead aim to capture the universality of human experience.
New in East Hampton
Allouche Gallery, a contemporary art venue that opened in SoHo last fall, will have a branch at 46 Main Street in East Hampton for the summer. The inaugural show, “Forty Somethings,” will open Saturday with a reception from 6 to 8 p.m.
The seven artists, all of whom are between the ages of 40 and 50, are Bast, Shepard Fairey, Faile, Marco Guerra, Paul Insect, Ryan McGinness, and Dustin Yellin.
Hammond and Zacharias
The Chase Edwards Gallery in Bridgehampton will open “Everlasting Color,” an exhibition of work by Phyllis Baker Hammond and Athos Zacharias, on Saturday, with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The show will be on view through June 20.
Ms. Hammond has a studio and sculpture garden in East Hampton, where she has lived since 1985. While she initially worked with pottery and ceramics, her more recent work consists of abstract pieces of open shapes made from flat, colorful metal sheets.
Mr. Zacharias, who was an integral part of the New York School, built his house and studio in Springs in the early 1960s. He has worked in many styles, but his most recent paintings are an eye-popping blend of Pop and Abstract Expressionism.
Three at Kramoris
An exhibition of artwork by three East End artists — Christina Schlesinger, Dinah Maxwell Smith, and Ruby Jackson — will open today at Romany Kramoris Gallery in Sag Harbor and run through June 11. A reception will take place Saturday from 5 to 6:30 p.m.
Ms. Schlesinger’s work ranges from representation to abstraction and often resides between the two, in mixed-media works that combine painted imagery with photo transfers and scraps of clothing.
Ms. Jackson, too, moves between abstraction and figuration and works with a variety of materials. She will show several of her miniature food sculptures and paintings.
Ms. Maxwell Smith paints naturalistic environments, especially the beaches and landscapes of Southampton and the people and animals who enjoy them.
“Ode to the Sea”
Tulla Booth Gallery in Sag Harbor will open “Water 2015: Ode to the Sea” with a reception on Saturday from 6 to 8 p.m. The show will include new and classic photographs by Daniel Jones, Roberto Dutesco, Blair Seagram, Herb Friedman, Burt Glinn, Stephen Wilkes, and Ms. Booth.
A History of Montauk
The Montauk Library will launch the release of “Images of America: Montauk,” written by Robin Strong, archivist of the Montauk Library, and published by Arcadia Publishing, on Saturday at 6 p.m. with an open house that will be followed at 7:30 by a slide presentation and discussion.
An exhibition of archival images that appear in the book and represent a pictorial history of Montauk will also open Saturday and remain on view through Labor Day. Refreshments will be served at the free event, and copies of the book will be available for purchase at the library’s circulation desk.
On Chuck Close
Terrie Sultan, director of the Parrish Art Museum in Water Mill, will discuss “Chuck Close Photographs” (see review on C5), the museum’s current exhibition and the first full-scale survey of the artist’s photographs, next Thursday at noon. Tickets are $10; free for members, students, and children.
At Sylvester in Amagansett
An exhibition of paintings by Tommy Lee, a Savannah College of Art and Design undergraduate, will launch a series of shows by emerging artists at Sylvester & Co. at Home in Amagansett on Saturday. A reception will take place June 13, and the show will run through July 15.
Lynda Sylvester, the store’s proprietor, discovered Mr. Lee’s work while in Savannah, where one of her three retail shops is located. The artist describes his work as “a repetition of symbols and words and color.” The dynamic paintings combine pattern, shape, and color.
Ms. Sylvester is a supporter of SCAD’s art community, and a percentage of proceeds from the show and reception will benefit the school.
Classical Realists at Grenning
The Grenning Gallery in Sag Harbor is showing the work of four classical realist painters through June 14. Both Anthony Ackrill and Patricia Watwood take a traditional approach to painting the human figure. In a further nod to classicism, the work of both painters has mythological overtones.
John Morfis, who grew up on Long Island surrounded by mechanics, welders, and tradespeople, will show a series of trompe l’oeil paintings of single hand tools. Edward Minoff’s work focuses on nature; he will exhibit a series of wave paintings.
Mr. Ackrill, in a departure from his renderings of the human figure, is exhibiting “Shark,” a lifelike 10-foot image on a whitewashed door, which, because it was sold to the first person who saw it, will be on view only through May 26.
Artist Associations Shows
As in years past, Memorial Day weekend will include art exhibitions by members of both the Montauk Artists Association and the Southampton Artists Association.
The Montauk show will take place on the Montauk Green from tomorrow through Sunday, with painting, sculpture, jewelry, photography, glass, ceramics, and fiber art among the mediums on view. The show will be open Friday from noon to 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 to 6. Admission is free, and many of the artists will be on hand to discuss their work.
The Levitas Center for the Arts in the Southampton Cultural Center will host the Southampton artists’ exhibition from today through May 31, with a reception on Sunday from 4 to 6 p.m. The show will include photography, painting, sculpture, pastels, drawings, and three-dimensional constructions. The gallery will be open Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m., Sundays through Thursdays from noon to 4.
“Whale of a Show”
The Sag Harbor Whaling and Historical Museum will open “A Whale of a Show,” an exhibition of work by local artists celebrating the whale, with a reception tomorrow from 6 to 8 p.m. Organized by Dan Rizzie and Peter Marcelle, the show will run through June 21.
Participating artists are Anna DeMauro, Jameson Ellis, April Gornik, Susan Lazarus, Edwina Lucas, Jill Musnicki, David Slater, Donald Sultan, Barbara Thomas, John Torreano, and Mr. Rizzie, who will also sign copies of the new monograph on his work.